Have Your Own Winter Workshop! Part 1

Halloween was only a few weeks ago, but it's already time to start thinking about holiday season! Before you know it you will be in a whirlwind of holiday parties, recitals, visiting and of course those dreaded trips to a crowded mall. So this year, while there is still a little time left before the craziness of the season starts, take a look at some fun ways you can spend time with your family and enjoy the holiday season! Have your own "Winter Workshop" at home! Put your favorite holiday CD, a festive sweater (and maybe a smock over that! and prepare for a day of family fun, which will be educational, low-cost and environmentally friendly!

First up- holiday cards! There are so many ways to make your own cards! Simply buy basic blank cards, in any color- you can find them at local stores like Target and A.C. Moore. One fun way is to use potato stamps! Easy to make but adults definitely do the cutting!

1. First cut a potato in half.
2. Next draw out a design in marker on the potato- such as stars, snowflakes etc,
3. Then using a knife carefully cut away the excess potato until you are only left with the shape you want.
4. Now let the kids dip the stamps into paint and let them design the plain cards however they like! By making the cards themselves it create a truly unique cards that friends and family would love to have!


Another, less messy, way of using plain cards is to use office supplies! Yes, office supplies! For instance creating a tree on the card front is both easy to make and made of things you can find around the house.

1. For the tree itself use round green color coding labels, easily found at Staples (and if you dont have green stickers you can spray paint it green or use another color, be creative!). You can also have a counting lesson here too, by starting the tree with one sticker, then the next row two, then three and so on.

2. Once the shape of the tree is done decorate it with reinforcements and smaller 1/4 in color coding circle sticker labels (both also found at Staples.).

3. And lastly top the tree off with a star sticker! Using office supplies as decorations may sound funny at first, but it very budget friendly and really lets you stretch your creativity!


A great card to make is the "Santa" card. Here you will want to buy red card stock, available at craft stores such as A.C. Moore. (it is too late this year but after Christmas/Valentine's Day sales are great times to buy this at a discounted price.)

1. What you want to do next is make a "belt." You will also need sticker paper (found at Staples) and a can of spray paint in both black and gold. Once you spray the paper let it dry.
2. Have the kids cut out a rectangle the width of the card, remove the backing and stick to the card at the middle.
3. Then on the gold paper have them cut out a square, but you may want to cut another, smaller square inside the bigger square for them; then remove the backing and stick over the block of black- thus creating a belt!
4. Using some of the white sticker paper you have not painted cut out a fun shape; three of the sides will be straight and line up with the bottom and width of the card. The last part however, make a fun wavy shape to create fur at the bottom of Santa's coat.
5. Lastly you want you can add three black round stickers as buttons! and there you have it, a simply card that looks awesome!


Another great way to use those potato print stamps is to create your own wrapping paper. Yes, it sounds like this could be hard, but really nothing could be easier, promise! Simply go to a craft store and buy a roll (or rolls if you like) of craft paper, 30 in x 15 feet is a good size.

1. At home lay out the craft paper on the table; now you can either leave it plain or paint it a background color is you prefer. If you paint it make sure to let the paint dry. Then the fun can start!
2. Bring out those potato stamps and let the kids loose! Have them stamp in whatever paint color they want, using whatever shape they want! There are no rules except to have fun and be creative. Once it is dry you will have a unique wrapping paper that you can truly say is one of a kind!

We hope you have fun doing some, or all!, of these crafts! Look for a new holiday blog in two weeks!